A Cake Just For You
by Destiny's Heroine
Summary: He, truthfully, didn't understand why he was doing this. Larxel. One-shot. For a LATELATE happy 12/8 day!


**Summary:** He, truthfully, didn't understand why he was doing this. Larxel one-shot. For a LATELATE happy 12/8 day!

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own anything. I don't even own the idea Dx.

**Author's Notes:** Yes, it is possible to be two days late for celebrating the day of my favorite couple, but what can you do? xD The idea happened to come by in the exact day, and it took me until now to finish. It all really started on a particular forum, a member there, madammina, since I was searching for a one-shot plot bunny for the occasion, gave me the word "cake", and Axel baking. Of course, it did ignite something, and at first it was suppose to be more comedic, yet, for some reason, it turned out to be more...can't say serious, though it wasn't what I was expecting as I typed. I don't think is one of my bests either, but I NEEDED to contribute once for Larxel day (I haven't ever done that)...even with being late.

As for my other fanfiction that has _yet_ to be updated, and while I hope most of you who did read it don't want to kill me, as I said, and reassure, it _won't_ be given up, but it will take awhile, if you can understand. I just lost the muse, and there's no excuse [oh shoot! That freaking rhymed]...and is something I've _been_ losing lately, and with the amount of work that I have to do, is getting in the way of finishing the next chapter. Because of the one-shot, though, I've rechecked over to fix some grammatical mistakes, or typos that were quite bothering me for the while. However, I hope this, uh...makes up for it? For now? Really, I do.

As for the title, I needed for it to be _something_, and it was what I could come up with ^^;.

* * *

_**A Cake Just For You**_

**By:** Destiny's Heroine

* * *

**W**hen Larxene had walked into the kitchen, a section of the castle that mostly no one ever used (and no male here was able to cook anyway), she had expected to simply glide in, get to the refrigerator, take out a unopened bottle of water, and leave. Back to her sanctuary; her room.

What she _didn't_ expect was to almost slip on _something_ that was on the floor, having to quickly balance herself as she held on to the edge of the entryway in surprise, and stared at what was the worst mess this kitchen had ever seen. And the culprit was standing by the stove, kicking the oven, and muttering a few choice words under his breath. As she studied the place when she was able to stand properly, she noted the whole area was covered in flour, thrown over the counters, on the floor (what she had slipped on), cracked egg shells here and there, some containers and measuring spoons and items strewn on different corners, and the kitchen smelled like it was in high fire before she came in, burnt. She wriggled her nose distastefully at the ash infested air, and settled her gaze on the redhead, who was throwing whatever crap he brewed up on the trash, worse for wear with white particles in his hair, face, and outfit just as much as the floor. It was odd how he did not catch her presence, as usually, it was quite normal to sense when one of them was about to portal in with the slight rift in the air.

Her question was answered when she met deep, jade pools looking back at her, disinterested and blank. As she leaned on a vacant wall after she cautiously walked on the flour hazardous ground, she crossed her arms, their locked eyes playing a staring contest for a minute as she smirked in amusement, until Axel turned away and continued on what he was doing, not unsettled by seeing her there.

"I'm not in the mood, Larxene."

"_Obviously_. But has that ever stopped me?"

"Silly me."

He merely moved forward to the free table without saying much else, where a bowl, lined with many ingredients, were situated. She watched as he simply took a measuring cup, and picked up the bag of flour, pouring it in, specks of white flakes shooting and spreading throughout the atmosphere in fluffs, and she raised a eyebrow when he unknowingly let some spill. This was...a very disturbing sight. Axel baking. For no reason that she could come up with to make it sensible. He could barely cook a fried egg right without something going haywire in the process, and now he was proceeding with a big step in his lack of culinary skills? There was something off. This wasn't like him. Precisely, not in the time she's known him.

Narrowing her eyes as he put the flour down, and threw it in the mixing bowl, he was about to go for the milk, until she began with, "What the _hell_ are you doing?"

"What the hell do you _think_ I'm doing?"

There we go, another set of familiar territory after the first one. That was proof for her that this was actually the real Axel, something she was questioning, and rightly so. She took the opportunity to saunter over to him, nestling next to his body casually as she eyed the concoction, not noticing the tension she formed by doing so. "That's exactly it. You're baking. What the _hell_ are you doing?"

He took a deep inhale of breath, apparently irritated by this point, and it was here Larxene noted a kind of exhaustion that she now saw up close, and it made her curious, needless to say. His green eyes appeared tired, and he carried himself as if he just wanted to lay down and lose himself to sleep any given second. However, Axel gave her a sharp glance, and she just blinked patiently. "What I'm doing is none of your business."

The sentence came with a expression that specifically told her to go away.

But, Larxene never really got it, as always. "I think it should be anyone's business if you're wrecking and may destroy the kitchen if you continue."

"Nobody uses this kitchen."

"Doesn't mean that no one can pass by for a bottle of water."

"Then why don't you _get_ your bottle of water?"

"Because I stumbled upon a redhead who can't cook to save both his lives."

"I thought you were the one who always manages to make charcoal."

Larxene scowled, obviously not appreciating his insult on _her_ cooking skills, because of just _one_ incident when she was trying a new recipe, and it backfired with her first attempt. It didn't change the fact that she was the only who can conjure up a _edible_ meal among this group. "That is called grasping at straws. I'm not the one who can't cook fried eggs."

"And I'm not the one who, while better than the men, can't cook worth anything," he countered without much fervor to the banter, slipping off next to sink to get the already used wooden spoon, still laced with a previous mixture.

"Which is a whole other level above you," Larxene retorted, not taking her eyes off of him, her hands on her hips now that she was getting slightly bored at his evasion on why he was really even baking. It wasn't like it was a hobby. "Either way, you mean to tell me you're doing this for yourself? Or does Roxas like _treats_?"

The way she conveyed the line made Axel glare at her, while she smiled with saccharine sweetness in return. He decided to ignore her once more as he began to batter the mix, and the little "conversation" seemed to satisfy Larxene enough for her to move over to the refrigerator, knowing at this moment that he would not budge and the topic couldn't be continued. It was this along with the fact that it was losing her fascination fast. Stepping over the egg shells, she went to get the bottle of water she came in here for in the first place, rolling it in her hand as she closed the refrigerator door behind her. She gave Axel a last look as he kept working, rolling her eyes, wondering how he was to manage without a cookbook not even in hand, and headed out without another word in the careful manner she had inhabited after almost falling down. She was done for now, however, the zest of needing to know what was he doing didn't escape her.

And it was when she was leaving, that she barely registered the tight, muttered words that reached her.

"You'll find out soon."

* * *

He, truthfully, did not understand why he was doing this. More so after the less than pleasant visit the woman provided him with. A part of him, after she finally left, wanted to just stop and throw away this idea that to him, was quite foolish to do, as he wasn't tied in giving her anything she didn't deserve. She was able to get under his skin mostly, and it was at that standstill that he'd rather be left alone, and clear away from her presence completely, not having to deal with her endeavors, or have to bother to do so. Then, at other times, she was more proficient, and more easier to speak to, and these were the times where he was able to stay, and have a real exchange between them. It was the same to him, however, another way to pass the time, and with being a Nobody, things slid by him without much effort. So it was a right to ponder on why he was still here, baking a cake for her. The _fourth_ attempt at baking a cake, that is. He knew part of it was a challenge made by Roxas, that suddenly took a turn from talking about a simple discussion of presents and how one would go about it in the usual clock tower, to him agreeing on a bet that he couldn't even recall how it escalated. The most vague statements he could pick up was that it _did_ include Larxene, and how much she would be hard to please, in Roxas' opinion, as she seemed introverted. Then, he made a comment he shouldn't have, and now this is where he found himself. And Roxas was also waiting for the result, the little runt.

Yet, it didn't connect on why he was trying so hard for the cake to _at least_ look appealing. He had been up since late morning, and had gone over multiple bags of flour, and other necessities, that he picked up today from a store after him and Roxas finished their sea salt ice cream (a tradition that had made itself permanent since he had first met him on that fateful day). He was tired after moving around and going through three stabs at making the vanilla layer, when he should've settled for the first burned and hard one, and hand it to her. He really doubted her reaction will be any different at whichever outcome. The only part that he succeeded in was making the chocolate cake, safe and placed in a corner that did not catch Larxene's sight when she had come in. His plan, was, that he was to make a vanilla and chocolate two layered cake, with strawberry icing coated around, and in the middle gap. The three basic flavors. He didn't know how the trio would taste in one, but it had been so long that he was encased in this kitchen, that he'd rather take the chance. And this was what had him confused; the _energy_ he was exerting into this when it really was nothing.

In the end, nevertheless, he placed it in the back of his head, thinking that it was a need to gain the triumph of impressing the "hard to please" Larxene, and getting Roxas to earn his loss by it. In fact, when he told the girl purposely as she was leaving that she'll find out soon, it would keep her guessing until the time came, making it much worthwhile, and liable for a better reaction. Or so he thought.

It didn't take long until the new blend was placed in the circular pan, and put inside what would be his last struggle in the oven. Dusting off his hands, he sighed, and pulled up the only chair in the table to sit on, resting his head on his palm lazily as he waited for the designated hour when he could finish.

* * *

"You think it's right for me to actually spy, without her noticing?"

"Just _trust_ me, it's me who you're talking about, you know. Got it memorized?"

Roxas slapped away the hand that repeatedly poked his forehead in turn, sending a slight annoyed glance at the chuckling redheaded man, who had come to be so different to the rest who he had slowly gotten to know. It was something...he had yet to fully comprehend. _A friendship...between beings who cannot feel. Was that really possible?_ The lingering and forceful issue came at times when he was not certain of his existence, or maybe, perhaps, it was just something he couldn't grasp in understanding. Shaking his head slightly, not wanting the burden to fall on him now, he thought back on what got him to walk side by side with his...best friend, as they were reaching Larxene's room. He was what he would call surprised when Axel showed up, holding the prepared cake in front of his blue eyes, a smirk etched on his face. It was there he suggested, seemingly confident, though as a Nobody, they couldn't feel as such, that he should witness the meeting and the delivery.

In truth, he didn't predict that Axel would have taken the whole bet seriously. Or even going _through_ with it. And, the cake looking like...it can be _good_. Axel even made a final touch by having her name handwritten with red, gel icing very neatly, along with the words, _"a cake just for you"_, that he dubbed to be a "professional finality". Roxas didn't think Larxene will be too fond of the pink, but she also didn't feel as a picky woman to care much about frosting, and he _did_ deem the letters kind of a nice add-on, almost sounding quite sweet in his view, if he didn't know better. That was the point of Axel's joke, from what he was told by him. His friend also didn't go out of his way to clean himself up, so he, while a bit faded after a while, was flour clad from head to toe still, and there was even spots of the cake mix around him. Not presentable, but again, Larxene felt as the girl who couldn't care for something so trivial. He had only ran into her himself just few a times, and it wasn't meetings that would truly get him to know her better, other than making a first impression to being highly haughty, and a bit overbearing. Yet, that was the worst of the matter, because otherwise, she didn't seem _so_ bad. To him, at best. And it told a lot when he was the number below her.

He stopped as his friend's footsteps halted, and he looked up to see that they were at _her_ door. It was there that Axel gave him a gesture that he should go to the corner to hide as planned, since it wouldn't do good for Larxene to spot him. As he watched the kid give him a nod with a grin on his face, and quickly take his residence at the left turn to be unseen, and far off enough for his presence not to be known, the redhead focused back on the task at hand. It took awhile for him to do anything, as he just stared at the surface of the door, doubts sprouting on whether this was actually a great idea. He could scarcely see himself ever hesitating, yet, here he was, doing so. It was for logical reason that he wouldn't be too sure, as the whole thing seemed pretty ridiculous to do. The last thing he wanted was to face Larxene's taunting about this, and make it unbearable for the few days after. What got him to finally knock in the end was the thought of Roxas as the onlooker, and he slid the cake behind his back as he stood there until she came to open the door for him. That was another thing. Him going to her private quarter was rare.

It didn't take long, as her blonde head with those two bug antennas revealed itself in the entryway, pulling the door back when she spotted him there, her eyebrows together in what was confusion immediately, especially at his floured up appearance. There was a moment where they remained silent, and just explored the other intently as if waiting for one to move, until Larxene got distracted, aware that there was a _certain_ person missing. When he saw that she was turning her glance to the side in the hall where Roxas would be cozily covered, he exposed the handmade cake he had worked on close to her face, seeing as that was the right time to divert her concentration on him.

And thus, began the awkwardness.

He didn't say or do anything as her aquatic eyes traced the pink product, a bit enthralled at the shimmers that crossed over them and her expression, ranging from being quite lost, to then shocked, and back to puzzlement, before it ended with her staring down the cake suspiciously. Axel never really took in much about people's words of her being a woman of strong emotions, even as a Nobody, until now. And somehow, he wished he could do what she just did. Those expressions of feelings flowing together. Could he? He thought so. She made it _appear_ possible, and she was a Nobody like him. No difference, no Heart, right? Either way, he noted that the mood had gotten thick and soundless as the clock ticked on, Larxene not speaking a word as her thoughts processed, putting their earlier run in and what this meant in realization.

"What is _this_?" she asked in a rigid tone at long last, the one breaking the noiseless ambiance that surrounded them both, yet sounding as if this was some kind of sick joke. What a friendly start.

"Read the words, darling."

She gave him a nasty glance, not amused. "Oh, I read the words, _darling_. Question is: why?"

He didn't get why would this get her in such a attitude, but he just shrugged indifferently. "There's no reason 'why', really, just that I made it for you."

She scoffed in disbelief. "It's probably poisoned."

"Now, I don't work _that_ way," he corrected idly as a fox-like smirk reentered his face, still holding out the cake for her, despite that his arms were protesting.

"_Axel_. You've got to be kidding if you expect me to accept that you worked all that time in that kitchen, slaved over, and put all this trouble for making a cake for _me_ from the goodness of your little _Heart_," she sniped arrogantly, and with the last word coming out in a bitter sting. And the notion was so laughable, that there was a short-lived paused dedicated to be amused. Short-lived because it didn't take long for her to continue. "I know you were here with Roxas."

This didn't faze him, even when a sound of a slight gasp came from the corner, Roxas apparently overhearing, and giving himself away even more. Inwardly twitching at the lack of tact in part of his best friend, he responded to Larxene, unconcerned. "And I was. And he is hiding just over there." It was pointless to keep playing ignorance when she knew. "And rightly because it was his idea, and I made it happen with some slight force. You don't have to take it or eat it, but acknowledge the fact that I worked for it."

"I don't have to acknowledge anything you do if I don't want to," Larxene snapped, her body stiff as her eyes ignited, impaling them into slits at him without holding back that she wasn't really pleased at this turn out. There was another round minutes of silence after that, something that was becoming constant with the two, before she simply snatched the plate of cake roughly into her own hands, and opened the door more ajar as a sign to come inside.

Axel followed without much thought, despite questioning the sudden invitation, and shut the door behind him, the whole Roxas "spying" on them going down the drain. And for a moment, he swore he heard a huffed shout of "Hey!", and some steps. He just shrugged apathetically, knowing the male blond will hear everything from him sooner or later.

With or without ever being in Larxene's room, it wasn't contrasting compared to his, if at all; the same pale color with the same gray markings striking across the walls, floors, and ceiling, and everything, even the tables, or side tables, and desks, the exact, empty, shade. Boring, just like the very castle. The bed was no exception, minus that the headboard had the Nobody symbol engraved in black, and so he took his interest to Larxene, who placed the cake on a desk in the far corner, that, coincidentally, had two chairs prepared. It appeared they were communicating silently as well, as she had comfortably sat down in one, and without permission, as he didn't need one, he walked up, and he seated himself calmly. The ache of his muscles that overcame him, and the relief of his body being inactive, told him that he was yet to heal from the trials he had gone through to make that damn desert.

As his eyes traced her, none of them said anything once more, for what was the, fourth or fifth time? He didn't know. All she did was lick her rose colored lips, and went into a pensive phase where she just shifted her gaze from him to the cake, her face bored, and yet, skeptical. After a moment of arriving at a resolve, she reached out her hand to pick up the knife that he had placed on top of napkins to cut the cake up when the time came, and he kept his attention on how she leisurely began slicing a piece elegantly...and he wasn't sure where this was going.

"How nice. Didn't bother to bring a extra plate."

He frowned. "We have napkins."

"Hmph. I prefer a plate."

"Well, then, I so humbly _apologize_ to the lady if it seems very low for her high standards," was what he merely responded with sardonically, knowing that with Roxas, he could've brought extra plates with him. He just didn't feel like mentioning he was lazy, and begin a argument that didn't need to begin.

"Since when was a remark suppose to reflect that I have high standards?" Larxene asked with a sort of deadly sugary venom that was hard to miss as she cut another slice of cake with a more hardened manner, gracefulness lost, and it seemed Axel hit a nerve that he never intended to when she hissed, "I know everything about low standards, Axel. _You have no damn idea_."

He wisely didn't comment on that, and she took it upon herself to motion him to take one of the two slices, signaling him to eat first, in which he just stared at her with a stern countenance. "I told you it's not poisoned."

"Did I _say_ it was?"

"It was surely _hinted _at. Oh no, no, you outright stated it."

"Well...I'm not going to eat this alone, is all," Larxene said as she took off her black gloves, making the purpose clear, as she _wasn't_ going to eat this alone. If she was going to taste this, so will he, if he hadn't already. With any common sense he should have done so, considering that it would be a grave mistake that he didn't check how exactly the flavor came out as.

Meanwhile, Axel didn't know why she was buying time, or making what would be a simple second action be so difficult. Especially as he wanted for her to try the baked good to see the aftermath, and end it all. To admit, he was anticipating what she will think, considering he did more labor than he was truly ever suppose to. Not that he was asked or it was needed for the cake to _be_ perfect, but...maybe it was him trying to prove himself. Yet, then to who? To her? That he can have some cooking or baking skills at his disposable? It wasn't even much of _importance_ to Nobodies. And the reasons he had given himself before, which he perceived to be logical, were starting to be torn down by the person that made them, more so because he really didn't know how the cake was going to be, and whether she will praise his new knowledge of baking or reject it. Letting out of breath, fatigued, he believed this was too much trouble, and a meaningless one, to be confused over. Or even to question anything that wouldn't really affect him in the long run. This was a cake. This was Larxene. And he was waiting for her to put the said cake in her mouth.

_What a pain this is..._

This was all Roxas's fault.

"Here."

Getting reeled back out of his tangled mind, he found Larxene offering the second slice that he didn't get as was asked of him, while the other was in her left hand. And she wasn't even gazing at him, but at the creation, almost as if this was about explode with a hidden time bomb that he had put in there to blow her head off. That was quite the image. She raised her eyes up to give him a "look".

He sent her a blank stare at what was going through her head now about the gift he brought her, or whatever it was to be called. Nonetheless, he took off his gloves as well, knowing that him not eating it would only delay this more. "_What_?"

"Vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry..." she recited mockingly in such a forced wonder as she turned the slice, and Axel rolled his eyes to the side slightly. "Looks _okay_ in the outside. What kind of mix...?"

"It was done on a whim. Besides, I doubt I may be the only one who has done this type of combination," Axel refuted, his lips setting into a thin line, though he, finally, took the piece of cake that was offered to him. Their hands touched, fingers brushing slightly together, and he blinked as he didn't move. It wasn't that he _felt_ anything, contrary to what it was usually pictured as. It was that, with the friction, it reminded him that it had been a long while since he had freely stroke anyone's skin but his own without the gloves getting in the way. It was sort of unnatural and bizarre to him, to discover that Larxene had smooth, almost silky hands that appeared as if they had never seen the light of combat, which was guile and ironic to every sense. Then again, everything about Larxene's appearance was ironic, now that he thought about it. If he didn't know her or met her personally, he wouldn't think her the savage and merciless person she can become with big, wide, blue eyes, and a overall outward innocence.

If she knew how to use this advantage, she could fool _anyone_.

When he noticed that she was raising a inquiring, bemused eyebrow at him because of his hand still on hers far longer than need be, with something else he couldn't read flashing across her face, he quickly grabbed the slice and took it, breaking that small connection that he didn't mean to commit, and he scrunched his own eyebrows together in displeasure when the frosting was spreading over his palm as he held unto it. Larxene had double the problem, but all she did was lick them off, seemingly enjoying the strawberry tang. One positive point?

"Good?"

"The icing? Yeah, I like strawberry," Larxene mumbled dismissively.

Definitely one point. Who would've thought? Larxene and strawberries. Now all she needed to say was that she liked chocolate and vanilla, and he might slide through this, and show-off to Roxas the astounding success. The kid was doubting him. Did they even placed a prize for this bet?

"Ready?"

Axel looked at her to see that she was holding his cuisine close to her mouth, biding from nibbling it until he did the same. He took her lead, not seeing the point of making it a hassle, and when they both positioned their respective share of the treat to their lips, they locked each other in intense gazes, as if to predict, like children who were watchful of the old trick, whether they will _really_ eat it or not. He would've thought it funny, really. But they still had that unknown, silent communication, and they did not shift their eyes when both ended up taking a bite out of the cake, taking in the two layers, and chewing it warily.

Then, they stopped, especially when Larxene felt something crunch under her teeth that felt suspiciously like a egg shell...and it was proven when she tasted some sort of dried egg yolk, and some other extras that she didn't think were supposed to be in a cake. The vanilla, or what was dubbed to be the vanilla layer, was pasty and tasteless, and she felt like she was biting on taffy, and the "chocolate" wasn't what she would really call _chocolate_. It was...spicy? Her stomach churned, and the whole thing together made her feel quite sick. Axel was experiencing the exact thing as he slowed down his munching, a unpleasant and tight expression appearing as he attempted to keep the contents inside his mouth. It was another one of those pauses as their distorted faces eyed one another...

It didn't take long before both grabbed napkins from the plate, and took whatever the hell they were eating out of their mouths in gags, wrapping it and enclosing it in the paper, and trying to get the aftertaste off their tongues, coughing. Larxene shot her hand straight to the halfway done water bottle in her desk, something that Axel didn't spot before due to focusing on the cake too much. He frowned, wanting some, to get that...horrible savor out of his system. As she chugged down the liquid enough to compose herself, letting out a refreshing sigh, he reached for it, only to have it pulled away from him, Larxene's eyes flaring accusingly. "That WAS poison!"

"It wasn't! It was...well, I...it was just..." he fumbled as he tried to unsuccessfully explain himself unceremoniously, not knowing what went wrong when he was making the _thing_. This wasn't what he was hoping for...

It was then he heard laughing..._her_ laughing, her out of this world high pitched laughing as she found the whole scenario hilarious, and was chuckling and giggling to her delight. It wasn't like times before, when she was doing so to grate someone's patience with her, but she was genuinely _laughing_, muttering things about his hard work, how tired he was over this, only for it to end awful and pointless. But she was always able to laugh, and what shocked him, and he will use the term loosely, was that he found _himself_ laughing as well for some inane reason, something harboring in his chest that he wasn't suppose to have. Even if it was faint and weak, and not real, he was making fun of his misfortune too, finding it absurd, especially with his actions that occurred from buying the ingredients to this point in time.

"That was terrible!" she breathed, trying to gain back some control.

Axel snickered. "It wasn't as worse as the fried eggs though."

The whole thing befuddled him so much that he covered his mouth, halting the mirth that was coming out of him immediately. It wasn't that he hadn't done it before, but it was becoming _real_, for lack of a better word, to him lately as he kept hanging out with Roxas. Yet, the laughing hadn't reached to this degree, and he would've thought this would happen when he was in the company of his best friend, not Larxene; that was what perhaps perturbed him the most. It was also quite amazing how he didn't portray anything revolving negativity at his utter failure either. Maybe it was easier for him to take that way...

She seemed to stop her field day when the air got stagnant, and she shook her head, a fake sympathetic smile on her face. "What...what...I mean, _spice_, Axel?"

He raised his hands in uncaring defeat. "I thought it was cocoa powder. Give me a break."

Larxene placed a finger on her chin. "I think the only good thing that came out of this was the strawberry icing."

"And that's because I thankfully bought it."

At the comment, Larxene took the moment to study him rather keenly as the room swiveled into a different environment, thinking that he was taking this, with her teasing and joining in on it, rather well, considering he did appear overworked. "And you don't care at all and aren't disappointed?"

He just shrugged, a action he was doing more than usual. "It's not like I _can_ care or be disappointed, right?"

"I guess. But you did laugh..."

The mood slithered into silence, this time, a bit uncomfortable, but it couldn't sway Axel anymore after the multiple lack of speech that had covered them in the half hour. And there really wasn't anything else to say on the matter at hand. He wasn't going to deny laughing, and it was a act that couldn't be explained anyway, so it should be left alone. The cake didn't come out right, and that was acceptable, as, while he was quite convinced that he did more of a good job, he didn't think it was ever really going to be perfection, which was what he was aiming for. Close to it would've been fine. Or in even in the far middle. However, he _did_ have enough of halting their conversations this way, and for once, he was the one to break it, admitting, "It was nasty..."

"But I admit, I liked it."

He gave her a flat stare then.

Really, _who_ was she fooling?

She took it in stride, as if knowing the reaction that would come when she recited this out loud to him. She _was_ technically quite truthful in her compliment. He couldn't care or be disappointed after all, so she shouldn't opt to make him feel better by lying, correct? "It was the worst thing I tasted, don't get me wrong..." Since being blunt was a part of who she is, the words didn't impact Axel too much. He still did not believe her. "I never say this, and I can get why you're looking at me that way, but I liked it."

He snorted. "What? 'It's the thought that counts'?"

She tilted her head, a devious smirk forming, saying charmingly, "Well, no. But, what else would you expect when someone makes a cake just for me?"

Another typical sense of quietude went between them when he calculated her as she redesigned the quote etched on top of the frosting back to him, searching for any hints to decipher if she was truthfully up to something, or if this was just one of her games that she was known for to quench the amusement that wasn't suppose to exist. But, all she had was that smirk, a well-knowing one, and he couldn't spot any traces of anything amiss, so he just concluded to let her say what she needed to, if she wasn't done. This didn't sound like her...but it wasn't like he truly knew her at all when it came down to it.

"It was a horrible cake," she recapped smoothly, as if it was fact, which it was, taking a swipe of the strawberry coat with her index finger, and sweeping it into her mouth when she handed him the bottle of water, her quivering eyes deeply and sternly rapt into his own, no sign of dishonesty and deceit. And something within it made him feel like it was alright. Even just a little. "But it's the best cake I've ever had."

He took it as her odd way of saying thank you.

* * *

**Parting Notes:** END! I hope that you all liked my first one-shot, and enjoyed reading it as well, since it was a first where I followed a theme, and I didn't know how to exactly portray Axel baking a cake for Larxene without it somehow ending on a bad note, especially in a Organization setting, as well as doing a quick job to make sure it doesn't end up being three days late. I wanted any clues or hints about whether Axel was truly disappointed or not, why he really laughed or not, if he was in denial or not, the reason for the hand "hold", or even whether Roxas eavesdropped after the door was shut on him [someone told me they thought so], etc., to be rather mild, so blurring the lines was sort of what I was aiming for, to leave to interpretation for whoever reads it, even if I do have a certain vision xD. That way, you can think what you need out of the story, so I hope I at _least_ halfway succeeded with that. So, please leave a comment, and a review, if so wished, and for the others reading my other work, I _beg_ for patience D:.

Til' next time.

**Destiny's Heroine.**


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